What would your parents think about you viewing a music video with bad images like this photo to the left? Maybe because we are in college, parents really have no say in what we watch, however, Gaga's main audience is middle school and high school students. According to commonsensemedia.org Lady Gaga's "videos feature images of sexual bondage, questionable sexual behaviors, and even violence." For younger kids, Gaga is definitely not age appropriate, although lots of younger children view her videos and recite her lyrics. She is definitely not someone for a young child to look up to.
This little girl in the video displays actions that typical girls of her age shouldn't portray. For instance, her make up and her hair style are not normal along with her gestures. Not to say that only Lady Gaga causes this, but the little girl's mannerisms are very similar to what is seen in Gaga's videos.
So why is it so effective on teenagers? During teenage years, young adults are just becoming accustomed to their sexuality. They can be easily manipulated by celebrity displays of sexuality. In regards to Lady Gaga, she always is shown in inappropriate attire, which may give females the message that it is okay to wear revealing clothing, and males the wrong expectations of female dress. Being that Lady Gaga is so popular at this moment, teens want to imitate her inappropriately sexual dance moves and lyrics. When Lady Gaga sings Bad Romance, she makes questionable hand gestures when she says the words " I want your psycho your vertigo stick," something teenagers shouldn't be exposed to.
Parents probably wouldn't want their children of any age to view Lady Gaga's video Telephone. This may be because of her sexual behavior, dress, and the violence observed. In the very beginning of this video, Gaga walks in the jail and the only thing preventing her from exposing her breasts are black pieces of tape. When she enters her cell, she is completely stripped of her clothing. Throughout the whole video, she has many different provocative outfits, including different versions of thongs and bras.
She kisses another woman in the jail, and drives a car named the pussy wagon. These two things characterize Lady Gaga in an unacceptable manner.
There are many different fights and deaths observed that shouldn't be represented in any music video. These violent scenes could lead to casual fighting to act in a superior way.
These characteristics are represented in every music video that Lady Gaga has made, not only in Telephone. So if you were a parent, what would be the age group in which you would allow your child to watch Lady Gaga?
What about the feminine-empowering vibe in her music videos? As a black widow figure in both "Telephone" and "Paparazzi" she definitely is an image of feminine power. Furthermore, what kind of patterns do you see in "Bad Romance" - what kind of themes are running through that video - obviously she takes a lot from science fiction films; what do the films have in common?
ReplyDeleteHow is this empowerment different from the Spice Girls "girl power" theme from the late 90s? Were they any less scantily clad than GaGa (keeping in mind that the videos we're privy to are the extended uncut versions that are age protected and aren't shown on MTV)?
Oh god, the blog I’ve been dreading to comment for so long. As a kid, my parents would be upset if I watched Lady Gaga videos or saw photos such as the one above. I am unsure as to what age group is acceptable to be introduced to this type of entertainment. As long as people are at an acceptable maturity level then it is okay. It isn’t the best thing for younger kids to see these images. At the same time, it isn’t okay for parents to hide their kids from everything because it is only a matter of time before they grow up and get corrupted. I think Lady Gaga appeals to teenagers because most teenagers lack the capacity to appreciate and understand good music. I wouldn’t even consider Lady Gaga quality music, or music at all for that matter, but one of the main reasons I think she appeals to the younger crowd is because of her shock value and uniqueness. A lot of teenagers are naïve and believe the best music is what we see on television and hear on the radio. Because of this, Lady Gaga is one of the most easily accessible entertainment figures for teenagers to keep up with. Gaga is certainly a feminist figure, but the goal of her femininity is puzzling. Her videos and science fiction movies both make people stretch their imaginations. Gaga gives her audience something completely unique that has never been seen before. Similarly, science fiction causes us to stretch our imaginations. In my opinion, shocking her audience is the goal of Gaga’s music.
ReplyDeleteLady Gaga has defiantly caused a scene over the past few months. With her dancing at award shows and risky music videos, I think she is a bad influence to almost anyone, especially younger children. As an Early Childhood major, I want to be a kindergarten teacher. If I had children acting like Lady Gaga in my classroom I would be very upset. Young children don't need to be exposed to sexual acts like those portrayed in Gaga videos. Even older generations have bad things to say about Gaga. No 50 year old or older person wants to watch a sexually explicit singer on television. Not only are her videos provocative and have numerous sexual innuendos, I don't think they are appropriate for any age to watch. As a college student, I even was hesitant to watch some of her videos. I know A LOT of people like them, but I don't find them to be entertaining. I feel like Gaga is so influential because of her celebrity status. At the age of middle/high school a lot of students just want to be cool. They gain this by watching what celebrities do and say and wear and try to imitate them. Because Lady Gaga is so "famous" at this time, people are imitating her, which is probably not for the best. I personally think Gaga is a bad influence on any age and that she really needs to tame herself. I understand that making a splash is her thing, but is fame really more important than corrupting the youth?
ReplyDeleteI personally love Lady Gaga and cannot wait for her concert in Cleveland this summer. I agree with Kaci in the sense that she might not be the ideal figure to have young children looking up to and imitating, but my no means do I think she is a bad influence on everyone. Gaga has a unique female kind of power and seems to use violent sexuality as a tool to portray this. Lady Gaga is anything but boring and twists sexuality away from the male gaze. She is all about feminine power just like the Spice Girls in the 90’s. I do not remember people being so against the Spice Girls and yet they were representing the same thing Lady Gaga does. I do have to admit Gaga does it in a little bit more of a scandalous manner, but she challenges the norm. She is one of the most bizarre human beings and I absolutely love it. So yes she might not be the best thing for younger children to be watching, but once you get to a certain age and can actually try and understand the meaning behind Gaga and her bizarre videos, there is simply nothing wrong with watching her.
ReplyDeleteI happen to agree with Brett with the fact that Lady Gaga does not produce music that goes along with my personal tastes. With that being said, I do respect the artistic qualities being shown in her music videos by paralleling the videos with movies that I have seen. The whole dressing up crazy thing seems just like a modern day attempt at trying to be Madonna. I do not really see the shock value in a girl dressing skimpy considering a great majority of female artists have done it before her. Also the whole Michael Jackson “Thriller” movie music video was a little much especially considering with the music video appearing to be a dying breed. The fact that little kids and teenagers happen to idolize her also does not come as much of a surprise as she has “pop” beat and lyrics that unfortunately easily get crammed inside of your head. Little kids do not really care that they are listening to unfiltered garbage they just want to be like the older kids. Hopefully, Lady Gaga is a fad that most people will go through quickly.
ReplyDeleteI don’t really know how I feel about Lady Gaga. I listen to her music because it’s different, but I don’t see tons of talent there. I think what most people love about Gaga is her apparent lack of need for people’s approval. She couldn’t care less what others think about her and that’s exactly what makes her so interesting. Young kids probably shouldn’t try to imitate Gaga, but I see nothing wrong with them listening to her songs. Compared to all the crap out there now, Gaga’s songs aren’t all that shocking. What’s more shocking are her outfits, so maybe if your kid starts dressing and acting like her, then it’s time to cut them off. Kids could have worse role models. Little girls will see a lot of female empowerment from her videos. It might not be the best kind, since she kills guys and sets them on fire and all, but they will be exposed to some. Gaga is different and in a world of people trying to conform, she’s a breath of fresh air.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Kelsey about how far is too far for kids. If they listen to Gaga's music - fine. But when they start to dress and act like her, there's a problem. Personally, I like Gaga's music. I think it's unique, and because it's so different it has a sense of 'freshness' about it that other, more conventional, types of music lack. I think Gaga's popularity is due in part to the new niche that she has created for herself, because if anyone wants music like hers, they have very few options. When it comes to music videos I think the same principles apply - Gaga is definitely unique. However, I don't agree with the violence and indecency of her videos. I thought her song 'Telephone' was good, but when I saw her in the video with even less clothes than before, I was appalled. Gaga may think she represents 'woman power', but when she starts trying to sell with sex, she has demoted herself to an object of desire. In my opinion, the way she acts in her videos may portray power, but the way she dresses is anything but powerful. It is vulnerable.
ReplyDeleteI too agree with Kelsey. I do not see the harm in just listening Lady Gaga’s music. Most people, especially younger kids, are not going to pick up on her messages by just listening to the songs. It’s when you actually see the videos that you can begin to understand what her songs are really about. Her music becomes harmful when kids start to act and dress like her. I do like her songs. I find them catchy and just fun to listen to. I agree that her main appeal is her wow factor. She is different, crazy, and eccentric. Her scantly clad outfits give girls, and boys for that matter, the wrong idea about how women should dress. Her videos are very strange and a bit disturbing at times. The video for Telephone does promote the positive message of feminism. However, the way she does it with violence and sexual references is very inappropriate for her younger audiences. I think that Lady Gaga could tone it down a little bit, but her odd methods are what makes her the singer so many people have come to love and enjoy.
ReplyDeleteLady Gaga makes absolutely no sense to me. At first, she appears to be a mindless, sex-driven, covered in make-up crackpot who sings a multitude of odd and often auto-tuned songs. However, through this class I have seen some of the hidden meanings and messages behind her videos that are actually intriguing. Is that simply the work of the producers of the videos or her management? Or does Lady Gaga really just have us all wrapped up in her crazy persona, while she is driving at something deeper? I for one find it hard to imagine that she behaves daily how she acts in her videos and in public. Then again, if she is putting on a persona for her fans, she stays in character extremely well. Regardless, I think she is a little too over the top. I appreciate some of her deeper messages, such as her display of feminine power in Telephone, but on the whole it’s just a little too much for me. While her intense sexuality may have a purpose in many of her videos, I feel it is unnecessary to focus on sexuality so intently. It really is not appropriate for younger viewers, and I personally do not feel that it’s needed. Granted, I am far from a fan of her music, so my opinion is biased. But I think she could get the same points across with a little less of the crazy antics. But hey, it sells, it works, and as much as I hate hearing her songs she’s definitely taking over pop music right now. I’ll save some of the criticism until I get a record deal and see what it’s like.
ReplyDeletePersonally if I were a parent I would not want my young daughter to idolize Lady Ga Ga. I do understand that she does incorporate women empowerment into her videos and songs but I think that it involves a deeper train of thought to really pick up on those things. A young teenager doesn’t think about women empowerment and subtle messages but focus more on the things that are more obvious like her dress and lyrics. I do believe that she is a bad example for women because it causes girls to act the way she does, which is a very sexual. Once girls reach college they are mature enough to recognize that the way she dresses and acts is similar to “brand recognition”. I feel as though her antics are the main reason for her popularity and not so much her music ability. It’s very similar to David Bowie in the way they both used an extreme image and attitudes to achieve their desired level of fame, although I have to say Bowie’s music is much better. Whether or not she is in fact a bad role model can go either way but I think that she is here to stay and that parents will just have to monitor their children like they do for everything else.
ReplyDeleteIf I were a parent I obviously wouldn’t want my children to see her music videos and think that that is okay. Although I think Lady Gaga is a very unique star. She has her own style and she usually tries to make some point come across in her music videos. Even though there is times that her movement, words, and dress are inappropriate for younger kids, I don’t necessarily think she does it to have younger kids think that is okay. I think she likes to make a statement in her own way and that is just her way to go about it. If you would compare her to the Spice Girls she obviously is a bit more obscene than they are but there are also parts of the Spice Girls, for the time they came out, that may be in question. Such as the outfits they wore, each girl had their own style but in some way there was always a little too much leg, cleavage or stomach that was being showed. When talking about the themes from Lady Gaga’s videos, she does what she can to get the attention of the audience and once again put meaning into her work. What she does seems to work being how much we talk about her and her videos in class.
ReplyDeleteI don't see why her videos are any worse than one of Madonna, Aguilera, Spears, (whoever,) when it comes to exposing herself and sexual references. Or why it’s any more inappropriate she often makes out with women opposed to men. Furthermore, I don't really agree that people try to be like Lady Gaga. When watching one of her videos or seeing her dress on the red carpet, the typical reaction is probably nothing short of "what the fuck." You immediately know there is far more going on than just trying to be a piece of fine ass. I have not seen anyone running around in latex clothes or with pop cans in their hair. I asked my little sister that is in the fifth grade what her friends thought about lady Gaga and she immediately gave a look of disgust and informed me Lady Gaga is a man. I totally had written her off as just being some crazy that gets attention before taking the time to analyze. When I did, I loved it that I picked up on all kinds of other references in her videos. I can now say I actually find what she does to be interesting even if I still don't care for her music. A lot of the things are easy to miss unless you’re very familiar with where it’s from so most people probably don’t realize a lot of the references. A lot of scifi and even The Warriors, I think that’s pretty cool and better than seducing men alone like most music videos. Hey, and some people are able to digest her music and make it sweet. I’d say this kid didn’t take Lady Gaga as an influence in any sort of a wrong direction. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqMixeRhGfg
ReplyDeleteI must say that I really do not enjoy much of Lady Gaga and her music and would certainly not be willing to have my children watch her music videos at an early age. At the same time I do realize that Lady Gaga does have many themes and points that she wants to get across and therefore uses the unique styles that are visible in her music videos to do so. I do agree with the authors that these videos do play a role in many kids lives and that many kids are influenced by them but I feel that the same thing goes for many of the rap videos that are out there. I do feel that Lady Gaga does put much more thought and effort into her work than most other artists but I find it hard to believe that young children are able to pick out many of the themes that she displays and therefore would not allow my child to watch her videos.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Lady Gaga is so popular because of how different she is and how she sometimes is known to take it too far. Whether we want children to see 'R' rated movies or watch Lady Gaga's videos, it just might happen anyways. There is not really a way for parents to control everything their child watches because of the internet. As a parent, I suppose I would not want my child watching inappropriate videos, but it might happen. I just would want my child to know the difference between right and wrong. I would also hope that children realize that Lady Gaga is an artist, and what she does in her videos is for creative entertainment.
ReplyDeleteI think Megan could not be more right. When first viewing one of Lady Gaga's videos they can be overwhelmingly abnormal. If the viewer chooses to delve deeper, however there are many references as well as symbols that make interesting and provocative statements. For instance, as has already been mentioned, the focus on female empowerment. Another interesting aspect of Gaga's videos are the number of name brand products. For instance, just in telephone there are shots of Wonder bread, Miracle Whip, and my personal favorite Gaga's Virgin Mobile phone. I'm not sure if this has any significance, however it seems that most other music videos avoid using brand name products, so it leaves me to wonder if this is just blatant consumerism or a more symbolic choice.
ReplyDeleteHonestly Matt, I think its a symbolic choice to show the consumerism, not so discreetly, and make us realize that those kinds of product placement are everywhere.
ReplyDeleteI don't like lady Gaga's music. Actually, I hate it. But I do love her. I love her beautification of the body, and not being so afraid to be herself all of the time. In our culture, I feel like musicians can either be artsy and cover their whole bodies, or be skanks with no intellect. I love Lady Gaga's way of being able to show of her body and still be intelligent. I always hated how Lady Gaga couldn't really sing, and then I learned that she was classically trained and has a beautiful voice.
Some people say that Lady Gaga's face is not appealing. If you have ever seen it, you would know she is homely and frumpy looking, but instead of buying into the world's idea that you have to be absolutely gorgeous to be a rock star, she wears incredibly artistic fashion and just embraces it.
Just like pretty much everyone said I would not have been allowed to watch Lady Gaga when I was a child. I don't think that children should be exposed to her video until at least middle school maybe even high school. I believe that Lady Gaga has created an image of herself that will be well known for a very long time. She does represent female empowerment and standing up for yourself. But she also marches to the beat of her own drum. What I mean by that is that she does things very different from the way they have ever been done before. Her videos, costumes, messages, and style of music are all very different from the common style today. I agree that she has a message similar to that of the Spice Girls but she is going about it in a different way. I think that teens can benefit from her message of not being afraid to be different and be yourself, but I think they could do without so much of the provocative sexual aspect of her image.
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